What is the
Brexit transition period?

The Brexit transition is a period agreed in the
UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement in which the UK will no longer be a member of
the EU but will continue to be subject to EU rules and remain a member of the
single market and customs union.

This will allow the UK to continue its current relationship
with the EU while the future trading relationship and
security
co-operationis
negotiated.

The UK government does not use the term transition: instead
it prefers to refer to this period as an “implementation period”.

Why does the UK need a transition
period?

The EU will not negotiate details of new arrangements with
the UK until it ceases to be an EU member. The transition period is designed to
provide time for that new relationship to be agreed while ensuring that business
will only need to adapt to non-EU rules once the future deal
is agreed.

How long will the transition
period last?

The Withdrawal Agreement specifies that the transition period
will last until 31 December 2020. That end-date was included in Theresa May’s
original withdrawal agreement. If this deal had been approved by Parliament,
then it would have allowed 21 months for the completion and ratification of
negotiations on the long-term relationship. The subsequent delays to the UK's
withdrawal from the EU will mean that the transition period will now last for 11
months.

The terms of the Withdrawal Agreement allow the UK–EU Joint
Committee to extend the transition period by up to two years, but it must sign
off on the length of any extension before 1 July 2020. EU lawyers say that once
that window is missed, EU law makes it very difficult to agree to any extension.

The government has ruled out any extension to transition and
is legislating for a commitment not to
agree to any extension in the
Withdrawl Bill Agreement.
The government would then only be able to reverse that provision through new
legislation.

What will stay the same during
the transition

The UK will stay part of the EU’s economic institutions and
security co-operation arrangements.

The UK will continue to be treated as a member of the single
market and customs union and the EU has requested that states with EU trade
agreements treat the UK as a member state until the end of transition.

Freedom of movement will remain in place and
citizens rights will continue unaffected until the end of the period.

The UK will still be subject to EU law and the rulings of the
European Court of Justice throughout the transition period.